PIERS MORGAN has accused Health Secretary Matt Hancock of hypocrisy after he refused to commit to a pay cut, despite demanding it of those in other highly-paid professions.
During an interview on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, the panel quizzed Hancock about the current coronavirus crisis and when the country might expect to begin the process of pealing back lockdown restrictions.
Following the announcement that members of parliament in New Zealand would be taking pay cuts in order to help out with the national effort in fighting coronavirus, Morgan asked Hancock if he and his colleagues would be following suit.
"Will you be taking a pay cut as you urged footballers to do and as the government in New Zealand is doing?" He asked.
Hancock responded before being cut off: "I'm not proposing to do that, what I am proposing to do is work every hour that there is-"
"Well we expect you to do that, with respect Mr Hancock, but you were, as I say, very censorious of footballers, for reasons I didn't really understand, given that they're just one group of well-paid people in the country," Morgan replied.
"You're a well-paid person, some of your cabinet are multi-millionaires, it might be quite nice if you follow the lead of the New Zealand government and take a pay cut, that's all I'm suggesting. [But] you say you won't do that?"
"The point with the footballers was I was asked a question about footballers and I answered it," said Mr Hancock.
"And you didn't hesitate to nail them," Morgan replied, "but when I ask you the same question, about whether you're going to chip in, you say you're going to chip in with hard work, but not with a pay cut."
The question being asked by Morgan was in reference to Hancock's public urge that Premier League footballers take pay cuts earlier this month, a statement which turned into something of a PR misfire, with many accusing the Health Secretary of trying to deflect attention to something of an easy target.
Footballers in the UK have since independently launched the #PlayersTogether campaign, an initiative which will see players donate funds efficiently and directly to the National Health Service.
'I'm not proposing to do that, what I am proposing to do is work every hour that there is.'
Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he is not proposing to follow footballers in taking a pay cut. @piersmorgan | @susannareid100 | #GMB pic.twitter.com/inoTl7vwdl— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 16, 2020
